I Capture the Castle
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I CAPTURE THE CASTLE Directed by Tim Fywell Produced by David Parfitt (Academy Award Winner for SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE) Running time: 113 minutes Rating: R Media Contacts: New York Los Angeles RJ Millard Shannon Treusch Steven Zeller Courtney Ott Erin Bruce Todd Zeller IDP Distribution Falco, Ink GS Entertainment Marketing 1133 Broadway 850 Seventh Avenue 522 North Larchmont Ste. 926 Ste. 1005 Los Angeles, CA 90004 New York, NY 10010 New York, NY 10019 T: 323.860.0270 T: 212.367.9435 T: 212.445.7100 F: 323.860.0279 F: 212.367.0853 F: 212.445.0623 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] INTRODUCTION I CAPTURE THE CASTLE, based on the classic novel by British writer Dodie Smith, is a powerful and enchanting love story set in 1930s England. The film was directed by the award-winning Tim Fywell (the BBC’s Madame Bovary and The Woman in White) who makes his feature debut, and produced by Oscar- winning producer David Parfitt (Best Picture, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE). The novel I CAPTURE THE CASTLE was written in 1948, several years before the author wrote The Hundred and One Dalmations. The moving story of Cassandra Mortmain’s romantic spirit and the comic narrative of the family’s misfortunes was an instant and enduring success. This, the first film version of the novel, was shot on location in Wales, on the Isle of Man and in London. Seen through the eyes of 17-year-old Cassandra, who narrates the film through the writings in her journal, I CAPTURE THE CASTLE tells of an eccentric family struggling to survive in a dilapidated castle. Cassandra, her beautiful sister Rose, their bohemian step-mother Topaz, her penurious father, her young brother Thomas and orphaned helper Stephen live an isolated life that is completely oblivious to the outside world. When their castle is inherited by two American brothers, the innocent bubble in which the family lives is pierced and the sisters become awakened to strong new feelings of jealously, longing and love. The film features a talented cast from 3 continents, including British film newcomer Romola Garai, Australian Rose Byrne (STAR WARS: EPISODE 2) and Americans Henry Thomas (GANGS OF NEW YORK, LEGENDS OF THE FALL, ET) and Marc Blucas (SUNSHINE STATE, WE WERE SOLDIERS). The film also stars Bill Nighy (LUCKY BREAK), Tara FitzGerald (BRASSED OFF), Sinead Cusack (STEALING BEAUTY), Henry Cavill, Sarah Woodward, James Faulkner and David Bamber. I CAPTURE THE CASTLE, was developed by BBC Films and Trademark Films, and is a Trademark Films/BBC Films production. The film is produced by David Parfitt (SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, WINGS OF A DOVE, THE MADNESS OF KIND GEORGE) for Trademark Films with a screenplay by Heidi Thomas. The film reunites Parfitt with the Oscar-nominated technical team of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE: cinematographer Richard Greatrex and hair and make-up designer Lisa Westcott. The executive producers are David M. Thompson (BBC Films) and Anant Singh (Distant Horizon), Mark Shivas (Perpetual Motion), Mike Newell (50 Cannon Entertainment), Keith Evans (Take 3 Partnership) and Steve Christian (Isle of Man Film Commission). 2 SYNOPSIS 1934. Seventeen-year-old Cassandra (ROMOLA GARAI) lives in a dilapidated castle in Suffolk with her eccentric family. Her father, Mortmain (BILL NIGHY), is a reclusive writer who has been suffering from writer’s block ever since the publication of his highly-acclaimed debut novel twenty years previously. His wife died some years ago, and Mortmain is now married to Topaz, a beautiful and bohemian former artists’ model who is several years younger than him. Cassandra has a younger brother, Thomas (JOE SOWERBUTTS), and an older sister, Rose (ROSE BYRNE); Rose is the beauty of the family who has long been desperate to escape the family’s impoverished circumstances. Lastly there is Stephen (HENRY CAVILL), who works for the family (unpaid) but is more like a sibling. While Stephen adores Cassandra, she doesn’t share the same feelings. The family is thrown into crisis when Mortmain’s royalty statement – their financial lifeline – arrives with no payment due. Another letter informs them that their benevolent landlord, Sir William Cotton, has died and that their two-year rent arrears are now due. Mortmain’s only response is to hide from the crisis by spending his days idling in his study, which greatly agitates the rest of the family. Unlike her father, Cassandra takes refuge in writing. She starts a diary, wittily re- interpreting the events that follow in an attempt to capture the life she wishes she could lead. When Sir William’s heirs to the estate and castle arrive from America, it is as if Rose’s prayers have been answered; she imagines that they could be her ticket out of poverty. The heirs include the indomitable Mrs. Cotton (SINEAD CUSACK) and her two sons: the academic elder brother Simon (HENRY THOMAS) and the much coarser, tougher Neil (MARC BLUCAS). For Cassandra and Rose, socializing with the Cottons is a heady taste of another world, and soon they are spending numerous nights out with them. Strong romantic feelings begin to develop. One evening while the two families are dining together at the castle, Cassandra takes Neil swimming in the castle moat in order to allow Simon the perfect opportunity to propose to Rose. Everyone is delighted at the engagement, with the glaring exception of Neil. Rose is whisked to London in preparation for her wedding. On Midsummer’s day, Simon visits the castle alone. He and Cassandra spend a magical evening together -- and during an intense dance, Simon impulsively kisses her. He means nothing by it, but she is mortified and frightened, for she now realizes she is in love with her sister’s fiancé. Confused by her emotions, Cassandra rushes to London to confront Rose, who tearfully admits she is not in love with Simon. However, she insists that she still go through with the wedding. 3 Cassandra refuses to stay with Rose and spends a lonely night waiting in a café for the first train home. Upon arrival home, she turns in friendship to Stephen (who has long been in love with her), but she is forced to admit to him that she is actually in love with Simon. Her admission seems to free Cassandra to finally speak the truth. She finally tells her father about how his creative block and emotional reserve has distanced everyone he has loved -- his wife Topaz -- now living in London -- and his children. He responds by lashing out at her, but is then filled with remorse. They soon reconcile, and Cassandra unknowingly takes on the role of her mother as she quietly sits beside Mortmain until he finally begins to write. Their solitude is broken when Simon storms into the house with the news that Rose has left him. When they receive a telegram alerting them to Rose’s whereabouts, Simon and Cassandra set off find her at the seaside hotel. But what awaits them shocks both Cassandra and Simon – they discover her with Simon’s brother Neil. Shortly thereafter, they wed. It was Stephen who brought them together; as he reveals to Cassandra on Rose and Neil’s wedding day, he saw them secretly kiss soon after their first meeting and, after his last conversation with Cassandra, decided to tell Neil everything. Blissfully married, Rose and Neil leave for America. Simon hints to Cassandra that they could have a future together but she is now honest enough to know that she shouldn’t take him up on it. She intends to love and be loved in her own right, without reservation. 4 ABOUT THE PRODUCTION Producer David Parfitt became involved in I CAPTURE THE CASTLE four years ago when Heidi Thomas’ script was in development with BBC Films and director Mike Newell. Upon reading the book he was sold on the project. “For me it was like reading Bridget Jones’ Diary which is not a book men are naturally attracted to,” he says. I CAPTURE THE CASTLE is about growing up and first love, which has resonances for all of us. It’s a beautifully written and very emotionally involving and I wanted to translate that to the screen.” Heidi Thomas, who had long adored the novel, had conducted meticulous research on author Dodie Smith, and it was Heidi who first suggested that David Parfitt approach director Tim Fywell to helm the project. Thomas and Fywell had worked together on television drama Madame Bovary. Fywell was immediately drawn to the project. “I felt in one sense here was a very particular and sometimes humorous story about an eccentric family living in a castle in the 1930s, but that there were also a number of relevant, primal themes running through it, such as falling in love for the first time, losing your mother and coping with a difficult relationship with your father,” says Fywell. “Adolescence is an incredibly vivid time in a person’s life and to me this story captured those feelings of joy, pain, uncertainty and humor. But most of all I was drawn to the intelligent wit and ironic humour which runs through the story.” Fywell and Thomas embarked on a close working relationship to fine-tune the screenplay. With each draft, Fywell would spend days at Thomas’s house, where she would write in one room and he would read and make notes in the next. “We took the script on quite a journey,” says David Parfitt. “Heidi produced drafts which were entirely focussed on each character: there was a Mortmain draft, a Neil draft, a Simon draft and so forth.